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Neovision Jetty robot uses dry ice blasting for air duct cleaning

By Damir Beciri

3 Comments6 October 2011

Air duct cleaning is a tedious job which most of us leave to professionals whose methods and tidiness vary in quality. Group of engineers from Czech Republic developed Jetty – a robot for air duct inspection and cleaning. Robot Jetty is a belt robot with a unique design which allows it to fit air vents of various sizes, where it can apply dry ice blast cleaning technology to remove grease and dirt.

Developed by Neovision, who cooperated with the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Jetty weights 39kg (86 pounds) and its design allows it to fit ducts with various sizes and shapes. Due to its six leg trig, the robot can prop itself against the duct and ensure stability during jet rotation and help center the robot in the duct for maximum efficiency.

Jetty is able to pass and clean ducts of circular, rectangular or square shapes, and due to its design, it is capable to move through horizontal ducting, vertical or sloping ducting. The Robot can also get past S-shaped ducting and various turns.

The minimum duct diameter where it can operate is 0.4 meters (15.7 inches) and its maximum duct diameter in standard configuration is 0.71 meters (28 inches). Equipped with added extensions, the robot can operate in ducts with a diameter larger than 1.3 meters (51.2 inches) and the length can be adjustable to customer requirements.

The operator can control the robot from a secure place via a remote by using an operation panel. The ducting in front of the robot is scanned by a camera and is displayed on the screen of the operation panel. The robot can be guided into the desired position with a joystick. This enables the personnel to directly observe the cleaning process and see its immediate results.

Jetty’s construction allows the use of dry ice blast cleaning technology, as well as other cleaning methods. Using dry ice blasting enables removal of grease and dirt from ducts in an ecological manner since there is no need for solvent based technologies. The robust design of the robot allows the use of very efficient jets. The rotation velocity of the jet and the velocity of the robot’s speed (up to 0.1m/s) can be adjusted depending on the degree of contamination.

Dry ice blasting cleans surfaces gently and without causing damage. Another advantage of dry ice blasting is that the dry ice treatment (solid carbon dioxide) produces no waste, as the dry ice almost immediately transforms into gas and leaves the duct through the vent. It is ecological, because dry ice is a product of cooled existing carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide can be used to clean very adhesive and resistant sediments without using solvent based technologies based on organic dissolvent, acids or alkalis.

In order to make it fully functional, you’ll need a blasting machine and air compressor with a drying unit. Unfortunately, they haven’t solved the problem regarding aspiration which is needed during the process and you have to rely on the aspiration mechanism of the ventilation system or by connection your own aspiration system if the ducts don’t have one.